Fair enough, but I have seen the effects of people and kids in living conditions where all basic necessities are provided and they're quiet often completely unmotivated and stagnate.
It might be great to let the robots do everything though.
Were there conditions attached to the provision of those necessities? Would they be reduced or revoked if the recipients earned any income on their own initiative?
Would your observations be explained by removal of the implicit requirement that one must do work of a particular type to survive, or could they also be explained by conditioned helplessness, where people receive negative stimuli in response to attempts to change their own lifestyle?
The welfare system in many US states is not a great model for predicting human behavior in an environment where the basic needs are not particularly scarce. In any case, an unmotivated, stagnating person is preferable to someone who becomes violent and destructive. I'll take 1000 couches filled with 1000 semi-professional marijuanologists over one angry arsonist any day of the week, and twice on Fridays.
What I meant by unmotivated people with all basic necessities met being unmotivated - I was speaking of middle class suburbanites I know, who's goals and accomplishments hardly exceed watching full seasons of television shows. A civilization of couch potatoes just reminds me of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkPGlVqqEP0
As for any reform that would help treat, rehabilitate, and employ [1] former convects (or differ to rehabilitation programs instead of the money sink hell hole of the prison system) - that would bring a welcome and significant impact to all the millions of dollars, lives, time and resources wasted on for profit prisons and the vicious cycle of convicts with no where to turn.
It might be great to let the robots do everything though.